A year later, group EVP for the ANA reflects on the effect that the K2 Intelligence study has had on marketers and their agencies.
Category: General News Response
ReedSmith – Adlaw by Request: [Happy] Anniversary
A year ago today (June 7, 2016), K2 Intelligence released an Association of National Advertisers’ commissioned study entitled, An Independent Study of Media Transparency in the U.S. Advertising Industry. The painstakingly-researched and detailed report identified numerous non-transparent business practices that were alleged to be pervasive in the U.S. media ad buying ecosystem. Reminiscent of the Barbarians at the Gate and the Big Short, the findings sent shock waves throughout the industry by suggesting a fundamental disconnect between advertisers and their media agencies. The report disclosed that long-standing rumors of complicated schemes to hide and divert rebates and other incentives were well-founded and that media agencies were not necessarily acting in the best interests of their clients by, among other things, wrongfully retaining rebates and other incentives given to them by media platforms/publishers that were rightfully the property of the advertisers. Some headlines read “…CEO Alleges Widespread U.S. Agency Kickbacks” and “Kickbacks. Yes. They’re Real.”
MediaPost: Knotch, JP Morgan Will Take Transparency To Main Stage At Cannes
Marketers have been struggling with transparency in data for years. Some blame programmatic ad-buying technology. Others point fingers at reporting.
Read More MediaPost: Knotch, JP Morgan Will Take Transparency To Main Stage At Cannes
MediaPost’s MediaDailyNews: Ad-Tech Firms To Form Open-Source Initiative To Address Transparency Issues
In the coming weeks, a group of ad-tech firms, including AppNexus, Facebook, PubMatic, and Rubicon Project, will launch an open-source initiative that seeks to address many of the challenges surrounding transparency in programmatic media.
AdExchanger: ANA Details The Supply Chain Fees That Agencies Try To Hide
The Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) inquisition against nontransparent programmatic media buying rages on.
Read More AdExchanger: ANA Details The Supply Chain Fees That Agencies Try To Hide
The Wall Street Journal: The Rise of Transparent Digital Ad Buying
As marketers push for greater transparency in how the murky world of digital ad buying works, agencies are rethinking their approach.
Read More The Wall Street Journal: The Rise of Transparent Digital Ad Buying
MediaPost MediaDailyNews: Transparency Impacts Agency Comps: Omnicom ‘Exclusions’ Drag Entire Sector
The Big 5 agency holding companies grew 1.7% during the first quarter, marking a “deceleration” from “+4%” rates of growth in recent prior years, according to a top Wall Street analyst tracking Madison Avenue stocks.
Business Insider: The Guardian is Suing Ad Tech Company Rubicon Project
The Guardian is preparing to file a lawsuit against ad tech company Rubicon Project, alleging the ad tech vendor did not disclose fees it levied on advertisers looking to buy the newspaper’s online ad inventory, sources told Business Insider.
Read More Business Insider: The Guardian is Suing Ad Tech Company Rubicon Project
AdNews: Tackling Transparency: AdNews is Launching a Transparency Conference
Transparency is the most pressing issue facing marketers today. It’s been rearing its head like a two-horned beast. On one side are the thorny issues that are thought to exist between media agencies and their clients, and on the other, the troubled digital landscape where words such as ad fraud, misreporting and brand safety have entered into the daily conversation between brand, media owners and agencies.
Read More AdNews: Tackling Transparency: AdNews is Launching a Transparency Conference
Automotive News: Honda Split With Media-Buying Agency Over Lack of Trust, Report Says
When Honda Motor Co.’s U.S. operation said it was awarding media-buying duties to RPA in January, the company cited its desire “to return to a more consolidated structure” for its media, social and content creation as a reason for the move.
Read More Automotive News: Honda Split With Media-Buying Agency Over Lack of Trust, Report Says